Break the cycle with new fiction at JCPL

A favorite childhood storybook is “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff. The sequel to this story is “If You Give a Moose a Muffin.” This hilarious story has a young boy run ragged by a surprise guest.

The adult version of this story goes something like, “If you give a mom a muffin, she’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it. She’ll pour herself some, only to have her 3 year old spill it. She’ll wipe it up, find dirty socks in the process and start the laundry, at which time, she’ll bump into the freezer and remember that dinner has to be planned. Taking out hamburger, she’ll look for her cookbook, buried under bills, and remember that the phone bill is due.

Looking for her checkbook, which has been dumped from her purse by her 2 year old, she’ll smell something funny and change the 2 year old, and as the phone rings at the same time, she’ll remember that she wanted to have a friend over for coffee, which reminds her that she would really like a cup of coffee, and pouring herself some, looks for the muffin she wanted in the first place, which has been eaten by her 2, 3, & 5 year olds.”

If you are a harried mom, or just need a break from the kind of day this mom is having, stop by the Jasper County Public Library, where the new fiction on the shelves will “take you away.” Check these out!

Tess is an aspiring seamstress, and when she is hired by famous designer, Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic, she feels she’s been given a great opportunity. When disaster strikes and lifeboats are filled to capacity, Tess is among the last to be saved from certain death as the tragedy of the Titanic’s fate unfolds. “The Dressmaker” by Kate Alcott recounts the historical sinking of the Titanic, but is told from a fresh angle, portraying the glitz, glamour and emotions of young love.

Jimmy McMullen, a fireman with the NYFD has been killed in the line of duty, leaving behind his wife, Jackie and his young son, Charlie. Trying to move forward after the tragedy, Jackie decides to take Charlie on an excursion to her island home in the Carolinas, where they share a summer with Annie Britt, Jackie’s mother, who is determined to make this visit perfect for her daughter and grandson in “Porch Lights” by Dorothea Benton Frank.

Following his unearthing of the corruption among his colleagues and superiors, NYPD detective Harry Corbin has been banned from working on homicide cases for nearly a year. When a young woman’s body is found mutilated, Corbin jumps at the chance to solve the case and redeem himself from the past year’s struggles, but finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into the dark and secretive world of illegal immigrants and the exploiting of human life in “The Cold Room” by Robert Knightly.

Terrorized, incoherent, and covered in blood, Sienna, a teenaged girl, shows up on Joe O’Louglin’s doorstep one night. At first glance, Joe isn’t sure whether the blood is hers or if she is the perpetrator of a crime. In time, he discovers that Sienna’a father, a celebrated former cop, has been murdered in his home, and what’s worse is that the blood on Sienna is confirmed to belong to her father. She claims to remember nothing, so it’s up to O’Loughlin to dig for the truth and uncover the facts about the murder before it’s too late for Sienna in “Bleed for Me” by Michael Robotham.

Holding only a scrap of paper with a stranger’s name and the hands of her own three small children, Sunny escapes what turns out to be a mass suicide from the Family of Superior Bliss. Showing up on the doorstep of Liesel Albright, nineteen year old Sunshine claims that Liesel’s husband, Chris, is her father. Liesel had always wanted to have a family of her own, but never bargained for a ready-made family, and Chris reacts to the situation with adamant denial. The teachings of the Family of Superior Bliss leave a lifelong scar on Sunny, though, and no matter how hard she tries to forget and change, the urge to finish what the Family started is too strong in “All Fall Down” by Megan Hart.

If you give a mom a muffin, chances are she’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it, and as long as it doesn’t get spilled, she’ll probably want a good book, too. So get ready moms; put your feet up, pour that coffee, grab that muffin, find a cozy spot, hand your 2, 3 & 5 year olds a copy of “If You Give a Moose a Muffin,” and find your own great, new fiction for a solid afternoon of relaxing entertainment!